Gunlord of the ManorGunlord is the latest game to be released on the SEGA Dreamcast, by the German independent game publishing house NG-Dev Team. The game was originally designed for the Neo Geo MVS and AES hardware. Although created in tandem, this game should be considered a port. This is NG-Dev Team’s 3rd game, 4th if you include ‘Pink Bullets’ the retool. Of their first game ‘Last Hope’.
Gunlord is a side scrolling run 'n gun video game for the Neo Geo, developed by German indie developer NG:DEV. TEAM in 2012. It was also released for the Sega Dreamcast as an unlicensed title in the same year.
This is their first platformer style game, with all of their former titles being of the Shooter or ‘shmup’ Genre.First off, I constantly see that people are comparing this game to Contra, and other run-and-gun games alike. This would be a completely wrong assumption, this game is more of a Turrican clone. The Turrican series of games had more of an old style PC feel to them where the focus was not on blasting through levels guns blazing, but rather exploration of the environment collecting treasure and score items. Sure you have a gun, sure you shoot stuff, but run-and-gun does not fit the profile. Actually if you recklessly run and shoot, you will not get far in this game.I was surprised to find out shortly after popping this game in, that it is actually a pseudo sequel to NG-Dev Teams first game Last Hope!
The story tells that Vanessa Gaiden and her ship the Z-42 Warpstar go missing after the completion of her mission fighting off the evil empire, that you Gordian Gaiden (Vanessa’s husband) are off to fight a new threat, known only as the Master. The game starts of with a hand drawn 16 bit cut scene, that shows our hero Gordian violently escaping what can only be described as some sort of intergalactic trial, which is pleasantly surprising, because NG-dev Team usually omits the cut scenes from the Dreamcast Ports of their games. From the title screen you have the option of choosing Original Mode or Arcade Mode, Original Mode has storyline and continues, Arcade mode is for hard core gamers, it has a timer and no continues. The storyline in Original Mode is told by a series of beautifully illustrated images, that have a 70’s adult sci-fi comic feel to them.Then comes the game, my first impression is that it has the atmosphere and graphics of a top shelf SEGA Genesis/Megadrive game. And the game control backs that feeling up. At the core this feels like 1992 when the 16 bit era was at its peak. But then when you look again, you can see the effects and visuals that only a the Neo Geo or a higher generation console can pull off.
One example of this is that enemy animation, many of these grotesque bio-mechanical beings have very smooth animations with many frames built into them. This game having a 16 bit aura to is is in no way a bad thing, many retro enthusiasts like myself love this graphical style and welcome it. Then there is the music, oh my GOD the music! The soundtrack is absolutely incredible, it has an euro electro vibe, but not hardcore, almost like late 90’s trance.
The game is simple, you travel the maze like levels (walking, not running) killing the enemies in your path, and collecting the pink diamonds along the way.You have a main weapon that is auto fire no matter what style of power-up you have, jump of course, a rolling bomb attack reminiscent of Metroid but taken directly from Turrican, and the ‘Snake Laser’. The Snake Laser is a continuous beam that you can rotate 360 degrees around your character, and penetrates walls unlike your normal weapon, it becomes very helpful for those hard to reach enemies that are looking to fall on your head as soon as you come near enough.
Each stage has a HUGE boss at its end, that although very easy at first, will have you crying in the later levels. The game also has Space Ship shmup style stages here and there, which I personally thought was a great twist. This is reminiscent of a rarely known game on the Japanese Super Famicom called Rendering Ranger, which incidentally was created by Manfred Trenz who also created the Turrican series. I am beginning to see a trend here.Although it is viable to play this game with the sole goal of getting through the levels as quickly as possible just to kill the final boss, it is not what the developers of this game had in mind. The heart of this game is the exploration of the stages and finding the hidden diamonds and 1up items via hidden rooms, and invisible platforms that appear when you shoot them (yet again another Turrican trait). Proof of this is that at the end of each stage you are presented with a percentage of diamonds and credits collected for that stage, even more so you are presented with a in game generated code that when entered on the NG-Dev Team site that ranks you as far as percentage of the game completed and part of that percentage is based on diamonds collected.That being said this game is not for everyone, I think many people will pick up this game with the wrong expectations, but hopefully they will give it a chance for what it DOES have to offer.
I personally never got into the Turrican series, and only recently picked up a copy of Super Turrican in anticipation of this game. Gunlord is essentally Turrican, but polished. Turrican has very stiff game play, and you feel trapped because you can not fire your gun diagonally.
However, this game fixes what was broken in Turrican.I pre-ordered this game immediately when I heard it was coming out, mainly because I love to support the indie market, and also because the SEGA Dreamcast is one of my all time favorite platforms. I am indeed enjoying this game, but am not sure if I LOVE it yet. If you do decide to buy this title, go with the Limited edition so you will get the fantastic soundtrack! There is also a Collectors edition, that includes both the Regular, and the Collector’s Editions, in a pretty box, but why you would need 2 copies of the same game is beyond me.If you are interested, you can purchase the game directly from the developer’s website at:Thanks for reading, happy gamingGeorge ArthurRetrogamerFinal Verdict: 5/5Available on: Dreamcast (reviewed), Neo Geo; Publisher: NG:Dev:Team; Developer: NG:Dev:Team; Players: 1; Released: March 26, 2012This review was based on a retail copy of Gunlord purchased by the reviewer.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoGame/Gunlord
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Gunlord is a 2012 Run-and-GunPlatform Game developed by NG:DEV.TEAM for the Neo Geo, and later in the same year for the Sega Dreamcast, long after production had ceased for both consoles. An Updated Re-release, Gunlord X, was released in May 2019 for the Nintendo Switch and in December 2019 for the PlayStation 4. The stages are much larger and include new enemies, bosses, and an extra level.
At the end of Last Hope, the lone pilot Vanessa Gaiden succeeded in destroying the evil empire. However, her victory was short-lived as she went missing in action and never made it home. As her newlywed husband Gordian Gaiden searches for her, a new evil arises in the form of a demonic planet lord known as 'The Master', who can create and control beings made of steel and enslave people by absorbing their souls. Detecting this evil, Gordian frees himself from capture and flies to Kairos II to destroy this evil and hopefully find his wife.
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Donning the Gunlord armor, Gordian starts with a Spread Shot ability but can find power-ups such as Phoenix (a large fireball) and Bounce (bullets that ricochet off the walls). His gun also allows him to shoot a beam that he can move in any direction that destroys most enemies and bullets fired from them. Gordian can also roll into a ball that renders him invincible to most weapons and can drop bombs with it, but has limited use as rolling shares the same gauge as the beam, which refills automatically when not being used. Lastly, the Side Wave is a powerful attack that covers nearly the whole screen and can clear out most enemies. He'll need to fight his way across 10 stages (11 in X), navigating and exploring stages while shooting every enemy in sight.
Also see the Turrican series, which the game draws heavy inspiration from.
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Gunlord contains the following tropes:
- 100% Completion: The results screen after every stage displays how many diamonds, big diamonds and 1-Ups were collected in every stage. The only way to 100% the game is to collect every single one in a single playthrough.
- 24-Hour Armor: Gordian is always shown wearing the Gunlord armor, even when he's relaxing on the beach.
- Advertised Extra: Vanessa is featured in a lot of promo art, but doesn't appear until the ending and isn't a playable character.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Some of the bosses are absolutely huge. Look no further than the mechanical abomination that serves as the first boss or the giant mechanical dragon that serves as the second.
- Auto-Scrolling Level: The second level, Air Stride, justified by being a horizontal shoot'em up level, Stage 6: Acid Pipe and the new Stage 10 in Gunlord X, Electric Drive, in which Gordian is wearing a rocket pack.
- Badass in Distress:
- Gordian's adventure begins with him searching for his missing newlywed wife Vanessa, who had just destroyed the evil empire after a dramatic battle all by herself.
- The opening scene has Gordian captured and being sentenced by three men, but manages to free himself and escape.
- Big Bad: The Master is spreading chaos and despair throughout the galaxy and Gordian takes it upon himself to destroy him.
- 'Blind Idiot' Translation: Due to the development team being based in Germany, there are quite a few grammatical errors in the cutscenes that tend to get changed with each release, but it gets the job done.
- Boss-Only Level: The final level is solely dedicated to fighting the last boss.
- Boss Warning Siren: Every boss is accompanied by the announcer saying 'Warning: Boss Encounter' before each battle, with the exception of the last one.
- Bowdlerize: The opening in the original Neo Geo version included gore and some profane language, and each release had it toned down. By the time of X, none of it is present at all. The Golden Ending even omits a comment on how hot Vanessa is.
- Bridal Carry: Gordian carries his wife in his arms like this in the ending, appropriately enough.
- Bullet Hell: Many bosses tend to fire several shots that cover the whole screen. Fortunately, most of them can be cleared out with Gordian's beam weapon. And the Shoot 'em Up levels are filled with them.
- Collection Sidequest: Diamonds and extra lives are counted on the results screen. In X, by collecting all of the big diamonds in one stage in one run, the player is given an extra permanent continue. Have fun exploring!
- Collision Damage: Gordian will take damage upon touching most enemies, but some of the aerial bomber types can be used as platforms, which is required to collect some big diamonds and powerups. Some of the smaller enemies can be stomped on and can also be destroyed if Gordian rolls into them in ball mode.
- Degraded Boss: Hope you enjoyed the boss of stage 4, because it becomes a regular enemy at that point.
- Down the Drain: Stage 6, Acid Pipe take place in the sewers.
- Elevator Action Sequence: The boss of stage 4 and the lead up to it takes place in an elevator.
- Eternal Engine: Stage 4: Techno Dungeon, Stage 8: Factory Five and Stage 9: Electric Climb are filled to the brim with techno goodness.
- Excuse Plot: You're saving the world from destruction by shooting everything in your path. You might even forget that you're searching for your wife until the ending.
- Eye Scream: One of the captors that Gordian shoots to pieces in the opening has his eyeball flying out. This was removed in X.
- Fanservice: Vanessa shows off her butt in a thong bikini in the Golden Ending. Her clothes are also torn and showing skin when Gordian saves her in the regular ending.
- Flunky Boss: Many of the bosses are accompanied by enemies or create them during their fight.
- Game-Over Man: The game over screen presents you with the Master's ugly mug.
- Giant Hands of Doom: The Master possesses these during the final battle.
- Golden Ending: An extra scene is added to the ending if Gordian manages to collect all of the big diamonds, showing him and his wife relaxing on the beach next to the skull of the Master, surrounded by diamonds.
- Goomba Stomp: Gordian can destroy some of the smaller enemies by jumping on them.
- Happy Ending Override: Of sorts. Vanessa was seen as the galaxy's last hope and succeeded in destroying the evil empire in her game, but instead of heading home to celebrate her victory, she went missing. Fortunately, Gordian receives a distress signal in the ending, tracks her down and reunites with her.
- Hero of Another Story: Vanessa Gaiden, Gordian's newlywed wife, is the protagonist of NG:DEV.TEAM's previous title, Last Hope. This game starts where hers ends.
- Instant Awesome: Just Add Dragons!: The boss of the third stage is a dragon. The boss of the second stage is a mechanical beast that resembles one as well.
- Invisible Block: The stages are filled to the brink with them, and can only be revealed if Gordian shoots where they're hidden. Not only do they provide power-ups until they're destroyed, but they often lead to hidden items.
- Kick the Son of a Bitch: In the extra ending, Gordian is on the beach relaxing his legs on the Master's skull. The game points out that there's nothing wrong with this since he's useless anyway and better off as a footrest.
- Load-Bearing Boss: Defeating the stage 4 boss causes the elevator you're on to malfunction and descend, sending you to the next level.
- Marathon Level: Many of the stages in X have been turned into this, and if you're hunting for the big diamonds for extra continues, one stage can take about a half hour to complete.
- Nintendo Hard: The game provides plenty of lives and continues, and you're gonna need them. The screen can be filled with enemies that will attack the moment they appear, and on top of hard bosses and precision platforming, the game can be pretty tough. The Neo Geo and Dreamcast versions also need to be beaten in one sitting. Lose all your lives and continues and it's back to the title screen.
- One-Word Title: First announced as 'Gun Lord', then became 'GunLord' and then Gunlord.
- Platform Game: Along with a lot of enemies to shoot, there's a lot of tight platforming involved.
- Powered Armor: The Gunlord armor counts as this and allows Gordian to roll into a ball.
- Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: Gordian pulls one in the opening where he escapes from captivity and shoots his captors. It varies between each version.(Neo Geo): Bitches! Die in hell!Gunlord X: You are cute! I am the Gunlord! Have a nice day!
- Rolling Attack: Similar to Turrican, Gordian can roll into a ball and destroy some smaller enemies with it, and can drop bombs in this mode. He's also immune to most attacks and using this is necessary to discover secret paths that lead to some hidden items.
- Ruins for Ruins' Sake: The first and third stages take place in ancient ruins.
- Save-Game Limits: X finally allows you to save your progress, but you're only allowed one save slot. Until you beat the game, you can replay any level you've already beaten and you're shown whether you've collected all of the big diamonds for each stage. The save is deleted upon beating the game, but whatever continues you've obtained is permanent and carries on to future playthroughs.
- Scenery Dissonance: In the Neo Geo and Dreamcast versions, after going through two Eternal Engine levels, the final boss was fought in a rather out of place and plain-looking church. The background was changed in X to a more colorful lair in space.
- Skippable Boss: The mid-boss in Stage 3 can either be skipped by Sequence Breaking by jumping past some platforms early on, or going through a tunnel in ball mode right above the area where it's fought in.
- Spontaneous Weapon Creation: Gordian uses his suit to teleport a gun into his hands in the opening cutscene to shoot his captors.
- Spread Shot: Gordian's default shooting style is the initial burst. Many bosses and enemies in the shoot'em up levels are also given this.
- Unexpected Shmup Level:: The second level is a traditional horizontal shoot'em up level where players control Gordian's ship. The new level in X is another one, but has Gordian on a jetpack. And yes, both levels are filled with Bullet Hell.
- Updated Re-release: The Neo Geo version had a 1.1 update, which along with some minor tweaks, added a vocal narration to the opening scene (and is the only version of the game to feature one). Gunlord X is almost an entirely new experience, as the stages have been expanded, new bosses and enemies appear, and even a new stage has been added. The screen's horizontal output has also been slightly expanded.
- Your Soul Is Mine: The Master possesses the ability to absorb people's souls.